Overview

Grade Level: K-5 SpNeeds Resource
Subject Area: Reading, Writing, Mathmatics
Number of Students (average): 3-15
Years of Teaching: 1

Description

Answer the following questions as if you were giving advice to a student teacher.

How would I introduce a discussion of my approach to instructional design?			I would introduce a discussion on my approach to instructional design while I was co-planning with the student teacher assigned to my room. I would begin by saying something like, " When I plan the first thing I need to do is make sure I know what my prioirtized standards are and what it will look like when my students have learned them."
What are my resources for designing units and lessons?			My student's IEPs My state standards The teacher's guide for the curriculum I am using, if it exists My unit planning template Student workbooks My list of favorite education sites
What do I generally do first?			The first thing I have to do before I even begin to develop my units is look at my students IEPs and my state standards. By referencing the IEPs of all the students I have grouped together with my states standards I am able to determine which state standards I will be prioritizing for the school year. Once I have done that I am able to more easily determine which standards I will be teaching during a specific unit or lesson.
How do I interact with the standards?			I use the standards as the basis for my planning. Once I have identified which standards I will be targeting I determine what that standard will look like when my students are able to show me that they have learned it.
What are my constraints and how do I respond to them?			My biggest constraint is usually the fact that I do not have a currculum available to use as a starting point. I respond to this contstraint by using the other teachers on my campus as a resource, for myself, by borrowing thier materials and searching for material on line through education sites.
How do I approach student assessment?			After I have determined the standards that I will be teaching, I break them down into teachable objectives which tell be what the students will be able to do at the end of the lesson, unit etc. My next step is to design or modify an assessment so that it is valid, effective, reliable and fair and is assessing their ability to produce or perform what I taught them to do during that lesson or unit.
How do I approach post-assessment?			Up to this point I have only used assessment data to track my student's progress and to measure growth. I have not incorporated direct interaction between the assessment data and my students up to this point, although I do think it can be used as an important investment tool for them.
How do I approach self-assessment?			When self-assessing I look at the results of student data, then I think about what the student actions were that lead to those results. Once I have determined that I look at what teacher actions and mind sets were the basis of those student actions. If there was a favorable outcome I try to repeat those actions in following lessons, if there was an unfavorable outcome I plan to alter those actions in my following lessons, until I find teacher actions which are consistently yeilding favorable outcomes.
What are areas I would like to learn more about and/or become better at?			I would like to be better at incorporating direct student interaction with student assessment data. I would also like to use student questioning more effectively to determine their understanding of our goal and expected outcome during the lesson.
What final advice would I give about my approach to instructional design?			I would tell my student teacher to make a long term plan as soon as possible, becuase although you might change it often or veer off course when necessary, you will have a basis for instructional planning which is solid, clear and will drive you toward a perdetermined destination. "How will you know when you get there, if you have no idea where you are going?"